Kitchen Pantry Organization Ideas

Is your pantry easily navigable or completely chaotic? Whether you’re kicking off 2017 with an urge to purge or trying to come up with space-saving kitchen pantry ideas, a little organization can make stored cooking utensils and dried goods much easier to sort through.

Check out the following kitchen storage ideas and learn how to organize your pantry like a professional.

Get in the Kitchen Storage Zone

As you try to decide how to organize your pantry, think about ways you can make life easier. One great kitchen storage idea is to divide your pantry by zones. For example, group dried rice, beans and quinoa together in one zone. Then create another zone for flours, another for sugars and so on. This eliminates the need for rummaging around pantry shelves as all your food items will be easy to find in their designated areas.

Be Clear About Storage Containers

Clear storage is another kitchen pantry idea that only serves to make your life less stressful. What exactly are the benefits of storage containers you can see through? For starters, you always know what you’re looking at. Additionally, you can easily tell if you’re running low on cornmeal or flour.

Further simplify your life by using a label maker so that you can easily distinguish jasmine from basmati rice. Another great kitchen storage idea is to tape cooking or soaking instructions for rice, grains and beans on their respective containers, as well as the dates you last filled each bin.

Rock the Storage Rack

There are numerous types of racks you can turn to when you’re trying to figure out how to organize your pantry. Here are three kitchen storage ideas that involve racks:

Can racks: As the name suggests, these racks are used for keeping cans in control. They come in varied shapes and sizes, so you can put these to use in pantries large and small. Tip: Make sure your labels face out in order to easily identify the contents of each can.

Shoe racks: You read that right. Hang a shoe rack (the type with pockets) on the back of your pantry door. You can use it to store anything from packets of yeast and instant oatmeal to measuring spoons and afterschool snacks.

Magazine racks: When it comes to kitchen pantry ideas, there’s no such thing as being too creative. When you place magazine racks on shelves, you create an excellent means of organizing the lids of plastic food storage containers or pots and pans. You can also use these racks as receptacles for boxes of foil, plastic wrap or parchment paper.

Have Some Shelf Control

If you’re converting a former closet to a pantry, you’re going to need to invest in shelves. Shelving for your pantry is one of the best possible ways to maximize your space. Homeowners with solid DIY carpentry skills might consider installing shelving themselves. However, if you don’t have these abilities — or rent your home — your best bet may be to invest in industrial wire shelving. If that’s not your style, you could also use an inexpensive bookcase. Naturally, space is important when you’re trying to determine how to organize your pantry. Make the most out of external shelves with the help of a multi-tiered Lazy Susan, along with labelled labeled storage bins and racks.

Take Notes

Have you ever found unnecessary duplicates in your pantry? Like those three cans of baking powder you’ll never use, for instance? There’s an easy way to remedy this. First, don’t buy any more baking powder. Next, hang a dry-erase board or chalkboard on the door of your pantry. When you use the last of an item, note it on the board. That way you’ll always know which dried goods you need more of and won’t have to suffer from any shortage or surplus.

Alternatively, you can keep track of inventory by making a list of items you always keep in stock, along with the quantity you currently have. For example:

Marinara sauce — 2

Cans of black beans — 4

Aluminum foil — 1

When you use an item, update the list by reducing the number, so that you never have to worry about being caught without your favorite food or necessary cooking materials.

The pantry can be one of the most useful areas of the home when it’s employed properly. Map out an organizational blueprint and find the kitchen storage ideas that work best for your home. In no time, you’ll see how an orderly pantry can make meal planning and grocery shopping much more efficient.

Ready to keep organizing? Take a look at some ideas for keeping linen closets orderly.